SHRINKING riverine and inland forests have significantly reduced production and supply of wood required for soil fertility, livestock’s fodder, firewood and a growing furniture market.

Acacia wood, which is used in beams to prop up a tunnel’s roof in mines, grows in Sindh’s riverine area, and according to a retired forest officer Lala Fazal Balaee, its acacia’s bark and bole are used in tanneries and furniture manufacturing respectively. Similarly, kandi wood is also used for planks in coal mines.

Growers, by and large, do not plant trees on and around their lands to diversify their sources of income

Sindh’s forest department has 750,000 acres of land in settled and riverine area which could be used for forestation

A progressive grower, Nadeem Shah says he has started growing eucalyptus trees on his lands to control waterlogging. Its wood is sold as livestock fodder and firewood. Besides fodder production, moringa has medicinal value. Its market rate is Rs6,000/40kg.

In the absence of enough supplies of wood, cheaper furniture made of fancy and laminated sheets of chipboard has flooded the local market.

Wooden furniture, like that of shishum wood, is quite expensive and shishum is not available in Sindh in adequate quantities. It is mostly brought from Punjab. Shishum’s furniture is made for selected buyers.

“People find it easy to get a four-piece bedroom-set in a range of Rs100,000 and that’s why chipboard furniture remains most sought after”, said a furniture retailer, Mohammad Essa in Hyderabad’s posh cantonment area.

Furniture dealers say woods like diyar or shishum/taali are being obtained from Punjab.

“Shishum wood’s furniture is still very expensive and that’s why people prefer cheaper Russian diyar furniture. This variety of wood is preferred by families for dowry purposes”, said Mohammad Yusuf, carpenter of Hyderabad. Teak wood furniture is another very expensive variety.

A visit to furniture market reveals that a simple chair made of shishum wood sells at Rs3,500, and its price increases with carving up to Rs10,000. Most buyers cannot afford teak furniture.

Fast depleting water inflows and extreme weather are depriving Sindh’s riverine area of forest cover where kandi and acacia are grown.

According to a forest officer, the total riverine forest area has shrunk to hardly 5-10pc from its peak. He believes this area could be increased to 70-80pc, provided that forest plantation is done by involving local communities.

Not long ago, right from Kashmore to Thatta’s Keti Bundar, Sindh riverine belt had thick forests. The trees once cut were never replanted; climate started to change and freshwater flows dropped leading to accelerated deforestation.

According to an estimate, Sindh’s forest department has 750,000 acres of forest land in settled and riverine area which could be used for forestation. The department is now undertaking replantation of forests.

Published in Dawn, Business & Finance weekly, February 27th, 2017